Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) are becoming increasingly more common as they are a great way to conserve energy. More specifically, CFLs provide a substantial amount of illumination while using substantially less energy than traditional light bulbs. In fact, it has been found that CFLs may use up to about 75% less energy than traditional light bulbs. CFLs, however, contain metal contaminant material, i.e., Mercury. Accordingly, in the case of a breakage, there exists a danger of inhalation of Mercury vapor. Inhalation of Mercury vapor may lead to brain damage, birth defects, or any other number of dangerous illnesses. Statistics show that 1 in 6 children every year have been exposed to Mercury levels so high that they are at potentially at risk for learning disabilities, motor skills impairment and short-term memory loss. Further, the Mercury in one CFL can pollute 6,000 gallons of water beyond safe levels from drinking. Accordingly, there exists a need for a kit to be used to clean up and dispose of broken CFLs to minimize risks associated with the Mercury in a CFL.
Proposed solutions to the problem of spreading metal contaminants, which are found in CFLs, involve disposing of a CFL using an apparatus that may capture escaping contaminants. See, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/278,516 by Domanico. However, such solutions are inadequate for dealing with CFLs that may be unintentionally broken. Other proposed solutions to this problem involve using, for example, a complicated apparatus that submerges the CFL into a chemical bath. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,169 to Köher. Such solutions are not practical for a residential or commercial setting. Other examples provide ways to safely store a CFL, containing contaminant metals when a CFL breaks inside of the proposed containment device, but these solutions fail to address the problem of cleaning up CFL debris when breakage occurs outside of a controlled environment. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,410,054 to Shatford et al.; or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/151,408 by Ludtke, JR. et al.